Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Sorry to pause the story. It was Fall Break for my kids, so we went to red rock country and did some hiking. I completely forgot to bank some blog posts to cover the days off. Woops. I have no regrets, it was super fun.

Uh-oh, the final image in the Princess BATMAN series has been DELAYED! Yesterday's drawing style was such a hit, I thought I'd do another picture in that style. I started it, but it maxed out my B.A.T. (blog allotment time.) I need another day! I'll put it up tomorrow, a rare Saturday post of the final image.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

If you're gonna be Batman-like, you have to spend some time striking poses on top of a building, preferably in the dark. So here's the Princess on top of her castle.

Today's scene was supposed to be an action scene. But I ended up going out last night (*gasp* out of the studio!) My wife took me to hear Barry Lopez, the National Book Award-winning author. I brought along some paper (on a clipboard. I'm not a sketchbook guy. I'm a clipboard guy.) I listened and drew this night scene of the Princess watching over her domain.

I took the drawing and laid a digital layer over it (for the grays and yellows) and here she is. It's fun to do a different style. I haven't drawn on paper for months!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Here, she's having hot cocoa and scones with a fat duchess. You can't spend ALL your time fighting bunnies.

This is the last week of Princess BATMAN. We'll have two more images, then start with something new next week. (Something Halloween-y!)

BREAKING NEWS!

Remember a week or so ago, when I was up for a big job? Well, I just found out that I got it! Hooray! It is the rarest of all freelance illustrator jobs: a long-term, well paying, BIG job. It's a full textbook for an educational press and it will keep me in LEGO bricks for many months to come.

I don't usually talk about my day-to-day contracts here on the blog, but this one caused so much commotion last week, I thought I'd share the news.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Okay, it sounds like the longer/puffier dress with petticoats was liked by many! Yesterday's "B" struck a chord. So here is Monday's D2 with a longer gown. And different hair. Some of you requested her hair up.

D3 has flat shoes (better than boots?) tails on her mask and a big skirt with visible petticoat frill. D4 has Goldilocks ringlets and an empire waistline.

I like the blonde hair. I think blonde girls have been relegated to sidekick/comic relief or snob/villain roles lately. Can you think of any popular blonde girl heroes in children's media right now?

There are probably tons--I just don't pay attention.

Dark Souls Update:

I went with "Hunter" class. A female character. I'm shooting arrows at EVERYTHING! So far, so good. But I must admit, the female gait in the game is a little wonky. She swings her arms in a funny, elbows-in/forearms-out style. Must be a Japanese thing. I wouldn't walk that way if I was hunting demons in a zombie castle.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Okay, it's Wild Card Day, where we try a few last crazy ideas before going into the final. A note about Wild Carding--never, EVER do this on a real job with an art director. It almost never ends well. Either you get stuck with your worst idea, or you end up starting all over again.

These ideas are more princess-y. I feel there are lots of sassy, gear-laden, multi-belted girl-heros. But I can't think of anyone who fights crime in a poofy gown.

What should we plug into our existing designs?

Warning! The following is video game talk!

Dark Souls, the sequel to Demon's Souls (my favorite video game this generation) comes out tomorrow. I've had it pre-ordered since May. And speaking of character design, I have to choose a starting character class. In Demon's Souls, I played as a "Soldier." When given a choice, I like to play games as the everyman (no thief or magic classes for me.) There is no "Soldier" class in Dark Souls--they swapped it for "Warrior," which I don't care for.

I'm thinking of going with a "Hunter," or possibly a "Wanderer." And I think I'm going with a female character this time. In Demon's Souls I was a dude.

Anyway, I'm very excited. I haven't picked up a controller for months. Some quality game-time is just what the doctor ordered.